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Author
Topic: Is it possible to have HIV and not get sick? (Read 8314 times)

Just curious but is it possible to not get sick if you have HIV and are on meds? Although I am dealing really will this diagnosis and am adherent 100% to my meds, I sometimes get anxious with the idea that I might be hospitalized with HIV? Any thoughts or experiences?

Assuming you remain on meds and undetectable and all that and have an adequate recovery of your cd4 cells, your risk of getting opportunistic infections are small. When you say "be hospitalized with HIV" is this what you mean?

Your chances of getting sick with things like the flu will be about the same as the general public. You will get sick at times just like everyone else on the planet.

Having HIV (even successfully treated HIV) does put you at a higher risk to develop certain types of cancer. Liver disease, kidney disease, heart disease, and metabolic disorders are things you want to be cognizant of (most can be managed with lifestyle choices like quitting smoking, exercising, etc).

Just curious but is it possible to not get sick if you have HIV and are on meds? Although I am dealing really will this diagnosis and am adherent 100% to my meds, I sometimes get anxious with the idea that I might be hospitalized with HIV? Any thoughts or experiences?

Best

People like yourself who are recently diagnosed and on meds stand a great chance of never, ever developing AIDS. It's been that way for almost a decade now.

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"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am not looking for reassurance but I am simply curious. Although I have managed to keep everything stable and move forward with my life, sometimes I forget I have HIV and then it creeps into my mind and snowballs. I don't like this feeling because my thoughts run wild and I am sure you know what I mean. The lowest my cd4 dropped was to 330 and I never ever got sick, not even seroconversion flu. I actually haven't been sick for a long time, meanwhile people around me are getting the flu and all sorts who are HIV negative.

This infection just seems super strange and I have no idea what to expect. You hear some stories of people in the hospital for weeks with seroconversion, hard core partiers who maintain high CD4 and UD viral load and some who take care of themselves and get ill. There seems to be no consistency with this virus.

Just a very bizarre condition. Although one thing that seems to be consistent is the stigma. My dear friend whom I love is always asking if I am sick, meanwhile she always has the flu. I know she cares about me but it bugs me because she thinks HIV automatically equals the end.

My dear friend whom I love is always asking if I am sick, meanwhile she always has the flu. I know she cares about me but it bugs me because she thinks HIV automatically equals the end.

I guess it's your job, since you disclosed to your besty, to educate the uneducated about your illness. This is why I won't disclose until I have enough skill and knowledge to deal with people that may be a little ignorant about it. It can be taboo to some but they really just need to be informed.

Just a very bizarre condition. Although one thing that seems to be consistent is the stigma. My dear friend whom I love is always asking if I am sick, meanwhile she always has the flu. I know she cares about me but it bugs me because she thinks HIV automatically equals the end.

I would be very tempted to ask this person, "When was the last time you got tested for hiv?" Not to be mean, not to shut her up, but to get her to stop and realise that hiv affects women too and if she's sexually active, she should be getting tested regularly.

As for your other concerns, hiv affects different people differently. A lot of it has to do with your own genetic make-up. That's why some people can party like it's 1999 and have great numbers while others are very careful and still progress to aids (in the absence of meds).

For example, many people who are Long Term Non-Progressors often have a certain gene that enables them to partially, if not completely, control hiv on their own without meds. People who can control the virus completely (ie have an UD VL) without meds are called elite controllers.

I was able to go fifteen years before starting meds, and I started before I ever got an aids diagnosis. I never did anything special. I smoke, I drink, my diet could be better and lawd knows I could get more exercise. I was never considered an LTNP as my VL was always too high; I was an LT-Slow-P.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Hi everyone. I am very new to Forums. I have read all the most recent replies to this "curious question" and feel I need to respond too.

I was diagnosed in 1993 and did not start meds until 2000 approx. I have not been sick any more than any of the people around me. In fact I got sick less than they did and when I did got sick I rebounded a lot quicker. My CD4 started out low and VL was very high, but when I started meds these numbers reversed and I have been blessed to keep them that way.

The concern about being hospitalized is always present. Don't let this thought keep you from living. Take care of yourself, take meds as prescribed, eat as healthy as you can, seek medical guidance when needed, and experience life one day at a time.

I often get fed up with taking meds, but I realize they are the reason I stay healthy. Depression is always lurking to intrude on your life to take away the enjoyment of living. De aware of depression and avoid alcohol, which causes depression to be worse.

Besides medical guidance you should seek out local support groups. Yes, this means disclosure, but only to those that are just like you and are just as afraid of others knowing. The positive affects outweight the negative. Good luck.

Treated in good time HIV is mostly a boring virus with minimal impact on health, and the risk of illness or death for people with HIV is the same or very marginally lower to people without HIV. Indeed, skiing would be more dangerous to your health. By in good time I mean before your CD4 falls to 350-500 or if it rises to 500 some time after treatment.

I would be very tempted to ask this person, "When was the last time you got tested for hiv?" Not to be mean, not to shut her up, but to get her to stop and realise that hiv affects women too and if she's sexually active, she should be getting tested regularly.

As for your other concerns, hiv affects different people differently. A lot of it has to do with your own genetic make-up. That's why some people can party like it's 1999 and have great numbers while others are very careful and still progress to aids (in the absence of meds).

For example, many people who are Long Term Non-Progressors often have a certain gene that enables them to partially, if not completely, control hiv on their own without meds. People who can control the virus completely (ie have an UD VL) without meds are called elite controllers.

I was able to go fifteen years before starting meds, and I started before I ever got an aids diagnosis. I never did anything special. I smoke, I drink, my diet could be better and lawd knows I could get more exercise. I was never considered an LTNP as my VL was always too high; I was an LT-Slow-P.

It's just the luck of the genetic draw.

my genes, timing, and smoke/drink/excercise issues are the same. have some cognitive issues due to possible hiv/treatment issues, but after 30 years.....i still (usually) have a positive attitude and hope i see another 30 years.